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Empire of Great Liaotang
The Empire of Great Liaotang (also known as the Liaotangese Empire) was a Chinese-Tabi'atstani state that existed in southwestern Tabi'atstan from 1134 to 1924. History Founding The Kingdom of Xinyue and the Kingdom of Xiaoyuan had existed since the fall of the Tang dynasty and the subsequent demise of the Protectorate General to Pacify Yangzhou in 907. By the 12th century, the two were coming under increasing threats from the Kazemostani Empire. As such, the Xiaoyuan court sought to unite the Kingdom of Xinyue with itself, and on the 29th May 1134, this was achieved when King … of Xiaoyuan married Princess … of Xinyue. War in the North Relations between the nomadic Jebtsa Empire in the North had been poor with both the Kingdom of Xinyue and the Kingdom of Xiaoyuan, and such sour diplomatic relations continued with the Liaotangese Empire. On the 9th September 1181, Jebtsa cavalry raided several Liaotangese border villages, sparking the Liaotang-Jebtsa War. The war ended in 1227 with a Liaotangese victory and the extinguishing of the Jebtsa Empire. Interruption On the 6th June 1550, the wife of Emperor NAME, Lady Guo Zhenfu (郭珍芙) led a palace coup and took the title of Empress of Great Liaotang, marking the beginning of the short Yong dynasty. Rise of the Qing With the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the Liaotangese court was thrown into turmoil as they worried about the fall of an ethnic Han dynasty in China to a Manchu group. As such, the Liaotangese Empire sought to support the Southern Ming loyalist movement, and sent shipments of food to support Zheng Chenggong's Kingdom of Dongning, based in Taiwan. New Rejuvenation Movement Recognising that the Kazemostani Empire to the north was being bullied by foreign powers into giving exorbitant concessions, in 1872 the Xu court decided to undergo a series of reforms to the imperial government and modernise the Liaotangese economy. By 1885, the Liaotangese Empire had undergone massive changes. The military had been reorganised under a Western system. War with Japan Since the 1870s, the Liaotangese and Japanese had fostered increasingly hostile relations. Although the Liaotangese were no supporters of the Manchu Qing dynasty, they were still perturbed by Japan's ownership of the Ryukyu islands and the annexation of Taiwan. In 1900, relations reached a new low due to Japan's participation in the crushing of the Boxer Rebeliion, and in 1901, the Liaotangese court banned all imports of Japanese products in Liaotang. Poor relations continued, and the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the city of Guiting with the support of the Republic of Toyland on the 11th October 1904. Revolution and collapse Government Administrative divisions Territorial administration Military Modernisation Reforms of the Liaotangese military under the New Rejuvenation Movement were greatly helped by the fact that there existed a sort of professionalist tradition left over from when Liaotang had been a Tang colony, specifically starting when the Tang Emperor Xuanzong replaced the policy of conscription with the drafting of professional soldiers. Society Liaotang was split into core and periphery regions, with the core region being known as Yingzhou (瀛洲). Education The Liaotangese continued with the Xinyue and Xiaoyuan traditions of imperial examinations, which had been in turn copied from China. However, whilst the rules concerning examinations in its two ancestral states were comparatively lax, the rules for the Liaotangese imperial exams were extremely strict, with those found cheating being exiled as punishment. During the Xu dynasty, some ghostwriters and substitutes were even executed as a deterrent to cheats. The Liaotangese also put extreme emphasis on the anonymity of exam participants. Immediately after the conclusion of an exam, the papers were taken in and sealed in envelopes. This was to prevent markers from being biased in the marking of papers. When this proved insufficient due to some exam markers being experts in brushwork, the system was amended in 1631 so that papers were first transcribed in red ink by civil servants so that markers would not be able to recognise a exam candidate's work through their handwriting. Economy The Liaotangese economy was mostly self-sufficient throughout its history, although trade was still conducted with other Tabi'atstani states. Beginning in the latter half of the 19th century, the Liaotangese Empire found itself increasingly reliant on foreign powers for industrial goods and high tech weaponry. Arts and culture The Liaotangese considered themselves to be the descendents of the Tang dynasty, with the very name "Liaotang" meaning the "distant Tang", and hence their culture was highly influenced by Tang customs. The Liaotangese also had very close contact with the Ming dynasty, and were also heavily influenced by them. Science and technology In 1641, a copy of the "T'ien Kung K'ai Wu" (also known as "The Creations of Nature and Man") was brought to the Empire of Great Liaotang by Ming merchants. The collection of 150 woodcuts helped greatly advance technology in Liaotang, bringing innovations in agriculture, metallurgy, weapons manufacturing, and other scientific disciplines. The "Wan-Jen-Ti" gas described in the book was used to great effect in the Siege of Xingyi during the 1904-1908 Liaotangese-Japanese War. Dynasties of the Empire of Great Liaoting Category:Tabi'atstan